To think that in this awful accident, a helmet was not the only precaution this cyclist should have taken?

[LikeDylanInTheMovies]

<a class="break-all" href="//;www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/oct/04/carmen-greenway-bicycle-crash-helmet-law-london" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Husband of woman killed in Isle worth Husband calls for helmet law after wife dies following bike crash

What an awful thing to have happened, I feel terrible for husband and children and I'm sure if she could wind back the clock she'd have made different choices.

However in incidents like this, making helmets compulsory on its own is not a panacea, given that she was taking so many other risks (taking selfies, riding one handed, riding in drink, all at night).

In less tragic circumstances I get absolutely livid when I see cyclists like this, they give those of us who ride responsibly and legally a bad name. More worryingly they put us fellow cyclists at direct risk with their antics when traveling in cycle lanes. As it is sadness is my prevailing emotion.

I always wear a helmet on the road, but I don't think it is a magic forcefield that will save me. I have a duty to protect myself and others, just like any other road user.

Giving full allowance for the fact that her husband is deep in grief, but am I being unreasonable to feel that his campaigning efforts are misdirected? if he wanted to campaign on cycling safety, he should have perhaps included advocated better education/training for cyclists alongside his call for compulsory helmets.

People do daft things and take silly risks

they sadly do and many times they are at work when it happens.

many Londoners cycle like maniacs unfortunately, whilst I salute their green credentials- they have a fucking death wish

how can we develop a safe cycling culture like the NL/Denmark?

DS2's friend fell off his bike on his way to uni this week. He wasn't wearing a helmet and hit his head on the kerb. He's now in hospital with a bleed on the brain.

DS2 didn't have a helmet until yesterday. We know it won't protect him if he collides with a lorry or car, but it will help if he has a similar accident to his friend.

I don't know about helmets. The Dutch don't tend to wear them? Are their heads harder? Is their ground softer?

bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/cycling-as-the-summer-lingers-on/?utm_content=buffer8bd4c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

And it's not about being more cycle-friendly, you can fall off a bike any time.

Most people don't wear a helmet properly fitted anyway.

However, I agree as a vulnerable road user it is sensible to take precautions. Wearing hi-vis should be a requirement. Not going up the inside of lorries (or any 4 wheeled vehicle) is very sensible. Not texting while riding is very sensible. But as I've said on the 9 year old cycling with the sweets thread, the onus is on the car driver to be careful and take note of idiot pedestrians and cyclists becuase the driver has a metal box on wheels that can kill.

Wear it correctly - tipping it back at a jaunty angle such that your forehead is unprotected will make the whole thing pointless.

Do it up. Properly. No, no one loves chin straps, but if you don't do it up it will just come off in an accident.

Amen to that. I loose track of the number of children out with their parents where the helmet is nearly sitting on the crown of their head like a skullcap with the strap so loose that it will fly off in the event of a collision. I guess the upside is it normalises wearing a helmet for them.

Google babe that's a pretty mean thing to write if her kids ever read it! Why are cyclists so entitled? They are jyst trying to make it from a to b whilst trying not to get killed by angry drivers. You may perceive them to be arrogant and making reckless decisions and indeed they sometimes are, but by far the biggest culprits are reckless and arrogant drivers, who with one false move or fast speed, can kill. This country is obsessed with the car, the sooner everyone wakes up and realises that can't be maintained, the better. And I am speaking from the point of view of a driver and a cyclist. Believe you me, spend even half an hour cycling through a busy city, the amount of aggression and hatred against cyclists is astonishing. A cyclist getting killed by a texting driver makes page 7 of the paper, a woman killed for not wearing a helmet whilst taking selfies makes front page! Come on this is daily mail middle England anti-cycling agenda. Stop the hatred it's insane!

the onus is on the car driver to be careful and take note of idiot pedestrians and cyclists

I dislike statements like this because it implies that any fault lies with the driver.

Obviously drivers should be aware of all potential hazards when driving but ultimately the fault lies with the idiot.

supermoon100 the truth is mean sometimes.

And some bikers did put my life in danger as a pedestrian by not stopping at traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. How about that?

Yes indeed but it's very very unusual for anyone to get killed by a cyclist, although it does happen, how many people are killed by motor vehicles. Perhaps that's where your anger should go

If you need a riding hat you go and get it fitted by a trained person. Is there anything similar for bike helmets?

I'm torn on them, they're not magic hats but they might help. But if they were compulsory I agree with the pp that it would absolve councils (etc) of responsibility for improving the roads and cycle paths to make them safer and I think personally that those factors make more of a difference than helmets.

Also agree about hi viz and lights, all the lights! I have three on the front, two on the back and side on ones on the wheels. And an extra one clipped to my backpack. No SMIDSY here (I hope).

In Holland cyclists have dedicated lanes or pathways and right of way over vehicles. Car drivers are far more aware of cyclists and understand that, in the event of a collision, the vehicle driver will be considered at fault. It fosters a particular culture that reduces overall risk to cyclists making helmets seem unnecessary. (I don't know if that perception is accurate, btw in terms of deaths and injuries.) This kind of cyclist-centred infrastructure and culture does not exist in the UK. Wear a helmet, please.

If one wants to go down an evidence based route, the compulsory wearing of helmets by car passengers and drivers would save more head injuries than mandating helmets for cyclists. But nobody is clamouring for that. It's a weird world.

Clearly, if we all wore helmets all the time - including walking helmets - then some head injuries would be avoided or ameliorated. I once fell on ice and hit my head badly when walking to work. I would not have been as injured had I been wearing a helmet. Yet somehow it doesn't appeal. So it is curious that it is only cyclists who are given a hard time for not wearing helmets when they suffer head injuries. You wouldn't read an article about a pedestrian being hit from a car and suffering life changing head injuries being followed by comments about "why wasn't she wearing a helmet?" and pleas for other walkers to do so... and, like I noted at the start, there are more head injuries of those in cars than those on bikes but only racing car drivers seem to wear helmets. Surely if personal choice is good enough for car passengers and walkers (of whom few choose to wear helmets) then it should also be good enough for cyclists.

Mrs Hathaway - did you mean that air helmet doesn't get in the way normally?

Unfortunately I found cyclists in Holland to be quite anti-pedestrian.

As a horse rider I wear a helmet and an air jacket. I wonder why cyclists don't wear air jackets also.

not getting is that based on just an absolute number of head injuries? Is. Motorists X number of head injuries Pedestrians Y number Cyclists Z number.

If so, the obvious point is that far fewer people cycle regularly than drive a car or walk on the pavement and will do so for far shorter periods too.

Even a mad keen leisure cyclist will only spend a small portion of their day on a bike. A long weekend

Notgettingyounger - a voice of reason!

It does seem like a misguided campaign. The accident was of course utterly tragic and her widower's thinking will be clouded with absolute grief.

Helmets might not be compulsory, but equally they are not banned, so she - like every other cyclist - had the option to wear one for her own protection.

Nermener I don't think anyone manufacturers one for cyclist. It is a new concept to me, but I'm not sure if one would work for cycling. Having looked on line they look seriously expensive, way out of reach of most cyclists and it looks bulky and non aerodynamic so wouldn't appeal to serious riders who could stump up the cost. Horse riding (and ownership) probably attracts a different demographic. A vest could cost several multiplies of what someone paid for a bike.

As for activation, as I understand it, the horse air vest is clipped under the saddle and activated when the link is suddenly broken in the event of a fall. By contrast cyclists move up and out of the saddle and need to pedal standing up.

Also most bike crashes don't see you thrown from the bike as you would be on a horse, rather you fall with the bike and hit the ground as one in an ungainly heap.

Mrs Hathaway - did you mean that air helmet doesn't get in the way normally?

I think the air helmet is fabulous because during a crash it immobilises, stabilises and protects the head and neck. If you were to wear a similar shaped solid helmet (eg the ones F1 drivers wear with neck braces etc) then you would have trouble turning to look at the road, and some of the helmet itself would be in your line of sight, reducing your vision. However the inflatable one is tiny and invisible during normal riding.

I expressed myself poorly and incompletely earlier, sorry

Link wouldn't work at all for me?

But the anger comes not just from drivers it comes from pedestrians observing this misdemeanours from the pavements. There seems to be a tendency towards normal people wanting to police the roads. It's simply none of your business if a cyclist cycles by with the wind in their hair. Pick on someone else who's really making the world a bad place!

Mrs Hathaway - thanks.

There is a new helmet about to be launched, which was crowd funded.

headkayse.com

It does look really interesting- multi impact, foldable, and fits all heads.

I am interested it for DS. At the moment he wears his helmet when he cycles around the park etc. Once he is older, and riding on roads, flinging his helmet around, etc this helmet may be a safer option.

cushions small bumps

Like any other helmet then?

Hmm...

A helmet that folds up smaller. Seems like a solution in search of a problem.

Given that it's 90 quid and a decent, better ventilated and more aesthetically pleasing helmet can be bought for a fraction of that, I'll take my chances on replacing my 25 quid job should I have a spill.